After receiving the Engine Guard I said I would let you know how it performed during our annual three month trip to Central Aus. This year we planned to cross the Simpson Desert from west to east.
We approached the kick-off point at Mt Dare by passing through the Murray Sunset National Park in N.W. Victoria. There is some fairly hard going through the park including some sand which would be a good try-out. From Mt Dare we went to Dalhousie Springs where the desert proper begins.
There are some 1100 sand dunes across to Birdsville. They vary in height and degree of difficulty. They are all a test for the vehicle. Our vehicle is a Mitsubishi Triton with an Explorer Motorhome back. This is a full-fledged motorhome, toilet, shower, fridge, stove, dining table etc. All up the vehicle weights 3.4 tonne, a big load for a 2.5 litre diesel to drag over the dunes.
We found the Engine Guard to be surprisingly responsive, temp changes registered quickly. As soon as the load came on temp started up but dropped equally quickly when load came off. The standard temp gauge remained steady throughout a 20-25 degree range so it was the Engine Guard that did the work.
Two irrefutable conclusions:
- Standard gauge is rubbish, it’s only a feel good dial of no practical worth.
- Engine Guard worked well and gave us the info we needed, almost instantly, every vehicle should have one.
Just to try it out further we returned south via the Snowy Mountains. We crossed over at Hotham and a few days later recrossed at Thredbo. Both crossings were in heavy snow when chains were a requirement even for 4x4s. Over Thredbo only 4×4 permitted on road and only with chains. A party of three 4x4s denied entry because one vehicle did not have chains.
The Engine Guard worked just as well in the sub-zero conditions.
The only thing I would do different is to get a duel sensor model and monitor the auto trans temp.
Hope that’s not too much detail for you.
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